Does anyone have recommendations of Classical CDs that can be used as an introduction to babies or children?

I would say use any CDs. I don't see why some classical pieces are more suited to children than others are--you might want to do some research if you want it for specific things--like I'd skip the 1812 Overture at naptime!--but other than that, I don't see a reason why "children's" classical music has to be any different from "adults'" classical music. I suppose there are those who would say stuff like "Peter and the Wolf" are more suited to kids, but I don't know why.

Frankly I think most of the "kids'" classical CDs were just created for parents who knew nothing about classical music yet still wanted to get in on the craze, and didn't take the time to think that kids can be exposed to ALL kinds of classical.

Mozart is what I played for my little one at naptime. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

we love the series that includes "Beethoven's Wig", i forget the actual name of the series at this moment. It's the classics, with silly words on the first part of the cd, and just the music on the 2nd part. If you google beethoven's wig you'll find it.

Another series my kids like are stories set to classical music, I also forget the name of those, but you can probably google them. We have Swan Lake and The Magic Flute.

meg

The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi are great pieces for children (and adults). They are also wonderful to have around for when you are hosting a party for background music!

"Baby Genious" & "Classical Music for People Who Hate Classical Music" both feature pieces from the The 4 Seasons ("Spring" to be specific I believe).

But I recommend getting the whole set, we have it from the "Masters of Classical Music" set (volume 7), performed by various artists. This CD also has a few other of his most popular pieces on it as well.

But your best bet is to listen to music you like , and then pass it down. Play soothing during naptime, and a little more rambunctious during playtime, and somewhere in-between for creativity (the more instruments, with less crash, boom! for creativiy that is) <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Let your ear be the judge!

My daughter had colic for the first 3 months and the only thing that would make her stop crying was Ravel's Bolero. I never figured that one out, but hey, it worked! <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

What's great about classical music is that its so accessible to babies.... they're not really understanding lyrics anyway, and classical music can be so sooooothing.

I can't believe no one's recommended Brahms (you know, the dude who wrote that lullaby thing....) He was a romantic-era composer who wrote many really beautiful and soothing melodies.

I'm personally a big fan of cello music, for relaxing, so any of Yo-Yo Ma's albums are a good bet there. Try his "Appalachian Routes" (or something like that) album for something that the whole family will enjoy.

Some people seem to think you can develop a child's musical abilities by playing Mozart to it while it's still in the womb. But, as my wife pointed out, that was obviously not possible in the case of Mozart himself!

Depends on the age of the child, of course, but some pieces have been written with children specially in mind. One such piece is Saint-Saens The Carnaval of the Animals. Another is Prokofieff's Peter and the Wolf. Then, there is Benjamin Britten's The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra. A provocative question is whether children like music that has some story to it as opposed to completely abstract music. There are certainly a lot more pieces for children and a lot more to be said on the subject. But I'll leave it to others to come up with ideas.